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palettes were six or seven inches long, but this one was much
larger—more than two feet long—and completely covered
with elaborate carvings. The archaeologists surmised that
such a large and elaborate palette could not have been used in
someone’s home; it must have been a ceremonial object, used
in a temple for some sort of service to the gods. As they studied
it more closely, and as other scholars have studied it over the
years, they realized that in carvings and picture-writing it told
Narmer Palette
a great story: the tale of the unification of Egypt.
On one side, the palette shows a large figure of a man,
holding an enemy by his hair with his other arm raised high
to strike. Picture-writing nearby tells the man’s name: Narmer
(NAR-muhr). The other side of the palette shows Narmer
again, leading a procession of tiny figures carrying banners
of celebration, with each banner symbolizing a city in Upper
Egypt. Most importantly, Narmer wears, on one side of the
palette, the tall conical White Crown of Upper Egypt, but
on the other he wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. The
pictures show that Narmer, in leadership over a group of
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